


Birds and Beans

by Fenris



Category: Watchmen - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-06
Updated: 2011-03-06
Packaged: 2017-10-16 03:27:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/167922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fenris/pseuds/Fenris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan tempts his partner into a brief dereliction of duty.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birds and Beans

**Author's Note:**

> Little fluff piece done as a fill for a KM prompt requesting fic honoring National Bird Day (January 5) and National Bean Day (January 6). Yes, they're both real holidays. I didn't know either.
> 
> Takes place in the Birds AU, thirteen years before the events of "The Birds. In New York". So I guess it's technically a prequel, of sorts.

(January 6th, 1970)

Rorschach walked past Archie at a brisk pace, reaching out and trailing his fingertips along the smooth bronze sides of the airship as he did. Finding Nite Owl nowhere in evidence and eager to start patrol, he jogged up the stairs to the townhouse. He opened the door and stepped into the back of Daniel's pantry, then froze when he heard Daniel's voice. His partner was talking to someone.

Moving silently, he slipped out of the pantry and crept toward the kitchen where he could still hear Daniel talking. Peeking around the corner, he saw his partner standing alone in the kitchen, talking on the telephone. Rorschach dropped out of stealth mode and stepped into the open doorway, observing with annoyance that Daniel was still dressed in civilian clothes; khaki pants, shirt, and a sweater vest. The other thing he observed was that something in the kitchen smelled wonderful--warm and sweet and rich.

Still talking on the phone, Daniel nodded and smiled at him, beckoning him into the room with a wave of his hand. Rorschach reluctantly walked into the kitchen and stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed, while Daniel continued to talk.

"Oh, man, you should have been there yesterday! _Unbelievable_ luck. We positively ID'd sixty two birds including, get this, a Varied Thrush! I know, wrong turn at Albuquerque, right? And, to top it off I found the Boreal Owl that's wintering over in the Park. We got to watch it for a while; it was roosting in a spruce tree eating half a rat. Great day, huh? Yeah, I got pictures. Collected some pellets, too. You should have come down with the Cornell group, you absolutely missed out."

Bemused, Rorschach listened to his partner gush into the telephone about details of bird sightings with the same giddy enthusiasm he generally associated with fluff headed teenage girls babbling about whatever degenerate rock and roll singer or pubescent movie heartthrob was currently riding the front wave of popularity.

"Oh, get this, it's the best part! I actually got to hear Joe Woodward say, "What the heck was _that?_ " I know, you'll never hear it again, the guy can identify every North American passerine by ear. What? Oh, we chased it for twenty minutes before it perched long enough for us to get a good look. It turned out to be a partial albino grackle."

Daniel looked at Rorschach, who made an impatient gesture and pantomimed pointing at a wristwatch. "Hey Parker, I've got to go. Talk to you later, man."

Daniel hung up the phone and looked apologetic. "Sorry, yesterday was National Bird Day. I took a group of students from Cornell on a bird walk through Central Park. I was just bragging about the day's sightings to my friend who teaches up at Ithaca."

Rorschach stood like a sphinx, unmoved, radiating an aura of extreme disinterest. "Daniel. Birds don't need watching, criminals do. We need to get going. You're not even in uniform yet."

Deflating a bit under his partner's irritable observations, Daniel said, "Okay, okay. Hey, before I go get changed, I have something I bet you _will_ want to see. Look at this."

Using potholders, Daniel opened the oven and reached in, retrieving a large brown pottery crock. He placed it on top of the stove and removed the lid. A savory cloud redolent of brown sugar, molasses, and bacon issued forth, filling the kitchen with the warm aroma.

Rorschach's mouth watered in spite of himself and he craned his neck to get a better look at what his partner had taken out of the oven. Daniel looked his way and started to laugh. "Oh, _now_ you're interested!"

Daniel took the crock from the stove and held it out toward Rorschach so he could get a good look at the contents. "Boston baked beans, straight from Beantown. My mother sent them down from Boston to celebrate Bean Day."

Rorschach's attention was diverted from the mass of luscious-looking navy beans swimming in fragrant brown sauce and he looked at Daniel suspiciously. "Bean Day?"

"Yup. No kidding, January 6th is National Bean Day. It's a real holiday; my mom didn't make it up just so she'd have an excuse to make genuine non-kosher Boston baked beans once a year. It's to commemorate the day that Gregor Mendel passed away in 1884." Noting Rorschach's puzzled silence, he elaborated. "You know, Mendel? Father of Genetics? Punnett squares? Dominant/recessive traits?"

Rorschach nodded, cautiously. It did ring a vague bell, but biology had never been a favorite school subject of his. Too many unsavory details.

Daniel shrugged, "Mendel worked a lot with peas and bean plants, I guess that's the connection. But anyway, my mother always used to make baked beans to celebrate the day." He smiled, shaking his head fondly. "I told her that I missed her cooking last week when we were talking on the phone, I guess she took it as a hint."

Rorschach hadn't eaten since that morning and his stomach growled loudly, reminding him of that fact. He coughed to try and cover the sound, but judging by the smile that suddenly appeared on Daniel's face, he hadn't been quick enough.

Looking annoyingly innocent, Daniel said, "I was thinking that we might have a quick bite to eat before heading out, if you're not in too much of a hurry. My mother really is a good cook, I guarantee you'll approve of these. And hey," He picked up a wicker basket from the counter and lifted up the striped dishcloth that covered it, revealing a warm nest of golden brown rolls. "Got to have bread to sop up that juice, you know. I mean, we can wait to eat until after patrol, but it's a lot better when it's hot."

The beans really did smell delicious. And when he thought about it, there was a distinct advantage to fueling one's body before setting out for an evening of heavy exertion in the pursuit of justice.

Rorschach crossed to the cupboard and took out two plates, gamely ignoring Daniel's self-satisfied grin.

"Suppose we can wait half an hour to start patrol, Daniel. Don't want to be disrespectful of your mother."


End file.
